Grey
by Thalia Marie Grace
Summary: The only reason I didn't mind my grey streaks was because they were the one thing I had in common with Annabeth—the one thing we both did and shared the burden of.
1. Manhattan

**I was sketching some Percabeth and I was shading in the grey streaks aaaaaaaand this popped up.**

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"Hey, Jackson!"

I tried not to grit my teeth as I stopped walking with Reid—a friend of mine who had the same English class as me. Just my luck. I was already having a really bad Monday—Annabeth and I had somewhat of a fight over the weekend and we hadn't IMed since. IM stands for Iris-Message, by the way. Not 'Instant Message'. Iris-Message, as in the goddess of rainbows, Iris.

Anyway, apparently the school bully (who really wasn't intimidating—have _you _ever met Clarisse la Rue? Let me just tell you; if you're not a kid of Ares, and you've met Clarisse, then no other bully will ever scare you again) had a new favourite target: me. It was always me sooner or later. Besides, why did I care? I've defeated immortal gods and Titans and monsters. I could take one mortal bully.

"I'll catch up with you in class." I told Reid, who was hesitant. "Come on. If I'm late, just tell Paul what's going on. He'll understand." My English teacher was none other than Paul Blofis, my stepfather. He knew who I was, and me getting into a little bit of trouble with a bully is nothing compared to all the monsters I've fought in this school. I'm a demigod—half human, half god. A half-blood. Politically correct term is demigod, though. My father's Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea.

Reid muttered, "Good luck, man," and hurried off to class.

Jake Claudo—a senior at Goode High School. I'm only a year younger than him (which means I'm a junior), but we're the same height. But Jake is definitely a lot stockier and tougher, like a quarterback on the football team—which he isn't. I hope he doesn't know that his last name means "lame" in Latin.

"What do you want, Jake?" I was really fed up with this guy. Didn't he ever leave people alone? I held back a snicker. He's probably not smart enough to know what "leaving people alone" means.

Jake opened his mouth to say something. I spotted a few of his cronies behind him—I don't remember their names. He nudged them in the arm and pointed at me, and then they snickered, which was really weird. "Nice hair, Jackson. Getting old already?"

I realised he was talking about the grey streaks I have in my hair from holding up the sky when I was thirteen (long story). I usually dyed them black in school, but my hair grows abnormally fast or the dye fades after a few hours. I guess I forgot about them. "Shut up, Jake." I balled my hands into fists.

"Touchy." he whistled, making his stupid friends laugh.

Those grey streaks were really important to me. It may seem dumb, but it's the only real thing I have that Annabeth has, too. She held up the sky before I did—so we have matching streaks.

Then I felt sad. I _really _hated fighting with Annabeth. Especially since she's my girlfriend now. It hurts a lot more. Gods, love sucks. Aphrodite will probably get revenge on me for saying that, but it's the truth.

The only reason I wasn't even scared of Jake Claudo and his dumb bum friends (besides Clarisse) is that he can't punch me. I'm invulnerable after dipping in the River Styx (another long story). They can punch me, but it would hurt them instead of hurting me. But I could punch them. Just uncapping my pen Riptide and...

Unfortunately for me, Jake Claudo was one-hundred percent mortal. Who knows what the Mist would show him instead of my sword.

I was dimly aware of the fact that the bell had rung minutes ago. It was just Jake, his three friends, and me standing in the hallways. If he was about to pull a move, I could uncap Riptide, maybe threaten him a bit...

No. No, I couldn't use violence. Paul would never forgive me. I resisted the urge to take out my pen and instead continued to give my deluxe glare at Jake Claudo.

"Percy!" I heard Paul running up behind me. "There you are! Reid said—" he cut himself short when he saw Jake. "What are you doing out here, Claudo?"

Jake sneered at me. "Saved by your daddy, huh, Jackson?"

I really hated this guy. Paul steered me away from them as they walked back to their classes too. "I think one of us should tell him his name is Latin for lame." my step-father winked at me and I grinned. "You're fine, right? No injuries I have to report to your mother?"

"Nah." I still grinned. "I'm good."

"You never actually did tell me about those grey streaks," he added. "Sally said something about Atlas and Mount Tam in San Francisco, but I didn't really get much more than that."

I said, "You know the legend of Atlas, right?"

"Yeah. He held up the sky."

"Well, so did Annabeth. And Artemis. And me." I tried not to squirm uncomfortably at Paul's concerned look. "I do not recommend it. But Annabeth and I—since we aren't immortal—both have grey streaks in our hair. A symbol. And they're apparently permanent, too."

"Speaking of Annabeth..." Paul's look deepened. We were at his classroom now, but he stopped me before going inside. "What happened over the weekend?"

I really didn't want to talk about it. But this was Paul. He was the number-one guy figure in my life. I couldn't exactly ring up the god of the sea and ask about girl problems—especially because my girlfriend's the daughter of his number one rival. "According to Annabeth, I am the worst boyfriend in the world."

"What makes her say that?"

"I forgot our two-month anniversary."

Paul groaned aloud, which was exactly how I was feeling. "It's the eighteenth of every month. That should be easy to remember, considering your birthday is the eighteenth of August, right?"

"I'm not exactly good with remembering things." I admitted. "I forgot my mom's birthday three years in a row. And she's my mom. Don't tell me you never forgot an anniversary or birthday with her."

He looked uncomfortable. "I forgot our two-month too. So I guess you can call me a hypocrite."

I shot him a look that read 'You think?'

"Just get through this week, okay? Then you have a four-day weekend and maybe you can surprise her in New York City." Paul suggested. "You know your mother has always wanted to go back there after she stopped working at the station. All three of us could go."

Have I ever mentioned Paul was really cool?

"For now, we have to get into class. I think Quincy is determined on sticking a one-hundredth piece of gum underneath his desk." my step-father put his hand on my shoulder and led me into his classroom.

I had to stop thinking about Annabeth for now. Yes, I hated fighting with her, but I'd done it before. Even though we hadn't been a couple. But we had argued about worse things—like about Luke. No matter what, that would always be the worst subject, because even though he was a traitor, he was a hero.

Paul shot me a warning look that jarred me out of my thinking. It was a 'You're-Zoning-Out-Please-Stop' look that he had told me I would probably get numerous times. I grabbed my pencil and started to take notes.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't draw a really crappy owl drawing from time to time, shading its eyes grey and naming it Annabeth.

Oops?

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**This is a two-shot, don't worry! The next chapter will be involving a trip to New York City (where I've decided Annabeth lives while she redesigns Olympus, because her staying with Percy would be not acceptable to Sally and Paul and two very powerful demigods in the same place wouldn't be good either) and... maybe Percy interrupting Annabeth's class? You'll have to review to see! Review as many times as you can! x**


	2. New York City

**I'm glad you guys liked chapter one! Here's chapter two!**

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I really loved New York City. It was like home to me (well, it _is _my dad's home and mine). I remembered taking Annabeth to the beach once, where we could see the sunset over the horizon, outlining the city in front of it. It was really pretty.

Annabeth. I felt sad all over again as I watched the train take us into the station. My mom and Paul were talking about what they were going to do after they made sure I got to my girlfriend's school safely. Before leaving the train station, my mom pulled us over to the candy store that she used to work at all those years ago. She bought a bunch of blue candy for the next few weeks and I picked out a few of Annabeth's favourite candies. Candy always seems to soften her up.

I couldn't lie and say I wasn't nervous. Truth is, I'm always nervous around Annabeth. I hate feeling like I'm always going to do something wrong and that I'm not going to be a good enough boyfriend for her. I mean, she's my first girlfriend and everything. I don't want to hurt her. Plus, when she gets really sad, she looks like a wounded baby seal with those grey eyes of hers. It's really heartbreaking.

"You have everything?" my mom asked me, hugging me tightly. Paul clapped my shoulder. "Tell Annabeth hi from us after you two sort everything out, dear."

"I will, Mom." I smiled, which made everything better. The worried crease between my mom's eyebrows disappeared and she stepped back, waving at me as she took Paul's hand.

"He's so grown up," I heard my mom say after I started to walk towards Annabeth's school. "Next thing we know he'll be telling us that he's proposed to Annabeth and they're getting married."

She sounded so sure of herself, and so delighted, it even made me happy to hear. I made a silent promise to myself: if Annabeth and I survived through college, I would propose to her. Maybe make up some cheesy like about the grey strands of hair we shared. Something like "I think both of us having grey hair is a symbol—I want to grow old with you and only you."

Gods, that was so cheesy. She'd probably punch me or kiss me for that. Or both.

"Are you a visitor?" the reception lady in the school office looked up from her computer. I nodded. "What's your name?"

"Percy Jackson."

"Reason for visit?" she scribbled my name down on a pink slip.

"I'm visiting a student here." I pushed my hands into my pockets. "Annabeth Chase, junior."

The reception lady added that onto my pink slip and handed it to me, looking curious. "Annabeth's a nice kid." she commented. "She's an office runner—likes to say hi and chat for a bit with me. Are you the boy that made her cry?"

Oh, great. I hate making her cry. "Um..."

"She said something about a boyfriend forgetting their two-month anniversary."

"Yeah. That's me."

She tried to fight back a smile. "She really does like you. You better not lose her."

"I wasn't planning on it, Miss," I assured her, and then left the office, trying to find room 302G.

Annabeth's school was one of the biggest in the state. I don't remember the name of it, but it's something really complicated—some kind of Dutch last name, or something. It's got, like, seven floors, three gymnasiums, two auditoriums, and one cafeteria for each floor. The passing periods are ten minutes long—and if you're late to class, all you have to do is show them your schedule. If you come from the first floor to the sixth floor, they usually let you off.

To sum it up: this school is amazing.

But it's a private school. You have to be really, really smart to get in it. And nobody's smarter than my Annabeth. She told me she's already seen a lot of potential in some of the kids here, like they could be children of Athena. Chiron sent a few satyrs here because of that. _  
_

Finally I got to room 302G, which happens to be on the seventh floor of the building. Inside the room the lights were on, and from what I could tell, Annabeth was in a Statistics class. I could see her back from where I was in the hall: her hair had gotten longer from when I'd last seen it. More curly. It was almost at her waist now.

The boy across from her—looking strangely familiar—looked past her towards me, and his eyes bugged. Suddenly I recognized who I was looking at: Malcolm, Annabeth's maternal half-brother and second-in-command in Cabin Six. He waved slightly and then leaned forward towards Annabeth, nudging her arm and pointing at me.

Annabeth turned around in her seat and saw me, too, and my heart did a small relay in my chest. She was wearing make-up, which meant she had cried last night. Although she looked cute with the make-up on, I thought she looked even more beautiful without it.

She raised her hand and said something to the teacher, and then hurried out of class.

"What are you doing here, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth took my arm and led me down the hallway, but she didn't sound mad. She almost sounded... really happy.

"Hello to you too, dear," I said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes at me. "I wanted to surprise you in school. I have today off, and my mom wanted to visit the city." I explained to her.

"You... wanted to surprise me?" her voice cracked a little. She was smiling. Her eyes were shining.

I nodded.

Annabeth flung her arms around my neck and hugged me. "I'm sorry about the fight." her breath was hot against my ear, making it hard for me to concentrate. "I usually don't care about little things like month-a-versaries, but I..."

"It's okay." I hugged her back. "I should have remembered. It's my fault."

"Stop being so modest, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth grumbled, which made me laugh.

Being here with Annabeth really was worth it. "I'm sorry, too, though." I added. "I promise I'll remember every month-a-versary—even every week-a-versary—from now on."

She pulled back, but didn't release her arms around my neck. "Please don't."

I grinned—the one she loved a lot. It was kind-of lopsided. "You'll have to see what I'm going to do, Wise Girl. Meet me outside after school? I'm here for the weekend, so we could head off to camp if you want."

Annabeth smiled wide. "That sounds perfect."

"And we can celebrate a belated two-month anniversary there." I suggested.

Her smile was even bigger than before. "Even better, Seaweed Brain. But I have to go back to class—see you after?"

"Sure." I kissed her before she went into class. "Do you still think I'm the worst boyfriend ever?" I called, trying not to smirk.

She turned around and faced me, opening the door to the classroom. "Ask me after we celebrate our anniversary, Seaweed Brain. Then we'll see."

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**Three-shot or no? Review! x**


	3. Camp Half-Blood

**So every review I got asked for a three-shot. Ha. I love you guys.**

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"This is really nice." Annabeth commented.

We were sitting on the beach on Long Island Sound. Thank the gods I'd asked Chiron beforehand, because he told the harpies to take a break on curfew duty that night and we were out way past curfew that night. With the help of my mom, I managed to put together a belated two-month anniversary picnic for Annabeth and me. We were finishing off our meal with about a dozen blue-frosted cupcakes and blue cookies.

"I know it is." I agreed, putting my arm around her shoulders. She leaned into my shoulder. Her hair smelled like the sea—we'd gone for a swim earlier.

Annabeth smiled. "You really made up for it, Seaweed Brain. Thank you."

"Hey, I do the best I can for my favourite girl."

I saw her blush out of the corner of my eye. She didn't say anything, but she munched on a cookie and watched the sunset. Sure, the ones at Montauk or along the city beaches were nice, but the sunsets at Camp Half-Blood were better than any sunset I'd ever seen in my life.

"Did you make these or did your mom?" she pulled away from my arm and gestured to the cookie in her hands.

"She made the cookies and I made the cupcakes." I smiled.

Annabeth snorted. "I bet you made a mess in the kitchen with the flour and frosting."

"Hey!" I protested, but we both knew it was true. I actually _did _make a mess—such a big one that I called Mrs. O'Leary to lick it up. My mom didn't really appreciate the hellhound slobber in her kitchen, but I helped wipe it all off. Annabeth only laughed at me. Even though she'd insulted me, she was still really cute when she did.

I grabbed a cupcake from the plate and shoved it against her nose. When the cupcake fell onto the blanket, her face was covered in blue frosting and cupcake bits. She'd stopped laughing.

I snickered.

"You're _so _gonna get it, Seaweed Brain." she threatened, and then whipped a hat out from her back pocket and slapped it on her head.

I cursed in Greek and stood up. She had to be around here somewhere... But where? I watched the sand for footprints, but there weren't any. I was about to sit back down when—

_Splat!_

Annabeth's laughter rang in the air as the rest of the cupcakes—about five of them—fell off my face. She was somewhere near me, but I couldn't exactly tell...

I grabbed a towel from the blanket and wiped my face off. "Nice try, Wise Girl."

"I'm not done, Seaweed Brain."

That was all I needed. I grabbed what was left of the mashed cupcakes and flung them at the air; they stuck there. Annabeth's cap fell off her head and onto the sand, which I then snatched up, and she crossed her arms over her chest. I didn't think she was that intimidating—she was covered in blue frosting.

"Oh, lighten up." I kissed her on the cheek. "I was just messing around. Come on, come for a swim with me."

Annabeth sighed and took my hand. "Fine."

I led her to the surf and stepped in with her. She squeezed my hand just before we went fully underwater, because I know she was still a little uneasy around water. But I wrapped my arm around her waist as an air bubble surrounded us.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" I asked.

She smiled genuinely. "No, Seaweed Brain, it wasn't. It was better than Paris. Just you and me at our favourite place in the world with our favourite foods."

I grinned. "I promise I won't mess up again, Wise Girl."

"You better not, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth threatened, but she was smiling. "I'm going to expect something better than this for our three-month."

"What could be better than this?" I joked.

She laughed. "You're right. Nothing could get better than this."

We stayed inside our air bubble for what felt like hours, just talking. It was nice to talk to her like this—just her and me, in our own personal bubble (literally), with no interruptions. It was times like these when I forgot I was _Percy Jackson, Annabeth's boyfriend _and just _Percy Jackson, Annabeth's best friend. _We told each other everything.

"We should probably get back to our cabins." Annabeth yawned. She was pressed up against my side, her hand laced through mine. I could tell she was starting to doze off. "It must be at least one in the morning by now."

"Do we have to?" I pouted.

Annabeth laughed weakly. "We have all the time in the world together, Seaweed Brain. I think sleeping for a few hours is totally acceptable."

I kissed her on the forehead and nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

A few minutes later we'd cleaned up the beach, ourselves, and were heading back to the U-bend of cabins. We reached the Athena cabin and I kissed Annabeth goodnight, and I started to walk away until Annabeth called, "Um, Percy?"

"Yeah?" I turned around. She looked embarrassed. "What's up, Wise Girl?"

"My cabin's locked and I can't get inside." she mumbled.

"Okay. Um..." I bit my lip. I wasn't about to let my girlfriend sleep on the porch of her cabin. "Well, you could sleep in my cabin. There are four bunks in there. If you want." I added, feeling my cheeks heat up just as hers were. "I think it would be comfier than laying out here."

"You're right." Annabeth was still blushing. "But, um, that's against camp rules."

"I don't think Chiron will see it that way." I pointed out.

"Mr. D will."

"Annabeth, just take the invitation and spend the night in my cabin. We don't have to sleep in the same bed—obviously—and we won't do anything. It's either sleeping in my cabin or sleeping outside in the cold on a hard wooden porch."

She had to admit I had a point. Annabeth took one longing glance at her cabin and sighed, catching up with me and taking my hand. "All right, Seaweed Brain. You've convinced me. Let's just hope my mom doesn't kill me first."

Then we were both laughing as we walked to Cabin Three. Sure, it was going to be awkward for a while, but there was no way in Hades Annabeth would be sleeping anywhere other than somewhere comfy. If I had to, I was even willing to give her the cabin to herself while I slept on the porch. Or the floor.

"Goodnight, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth yawned.

"Goodnight, Wise Girl." I said back, and a few minutes later her breathing slowed; she was asleep.

It was weird to be sleeping in the same room as her. We'd never done it before. Part of me felt like we were so much older, sharing an apartment together, and the other part of me felt like a sixteen-year-old guy with my girlfriend.

Would I ever want to get married to Annabeth? She was perfect. I mean, not completely perfect, because she had one flaw, but that was it. Otherwise, she was beautiful, and smart, and the best fighter I knew. I already know I never want her to leave my life. Why not make it permanent at some point in my life?

I was thinking way into the future, though. At least six years—when we're both out of college. Assuming we live that long. Would Annabeth even want to? Would our parents (godly) approve? It would be like bonding them somehow. Like Romeo and Juliet, almost, because by Annabeth and me marrying it might bring their feud to part of an end.

I shuddered. No way in Hades did I want to actually end up like Romeo and Juliet. Didn't they end up killing themselves because they thought they were both dead? Juliet faked her death but Romeo thought she was really dead so he killed himself, and then Juliet woke up and saw him dead so she killed herself, right? Ugh, that's the kind of play that Apollo would write. Then again—William Shakespeare _was _a son of Apollo.

My eyes were drooping. It was nearly three in the morning now. I let sleep take over me, fearing whatever weird demigodly dreams I was going to have that night.

Surprisingly, my dreams were demigodly, yes, but not disturbing.

I dreamed of me—much older—with Annabeth by my side, and a few kids that looked like both of us running around.

Huh. Not a bad future.

Thanks, Aphrodite.

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**So I did get a request of a four-shot. The fourth chapter would be his proposal. Would you guys want that? Add that in your review.**

**Oh, and please go check out my new Percabeth one-shot: _How Idiots Fall In Love. _Thanks! x**


	4. Back to Manhattan

**I shouldn't ask for a four-shot lol because you'll all demand it anyways hahaha.**

**OH AND GUESS WHAT - HUNTEROFARTEMIS32 IF YOU'RE READING THIS THANK YOU FOR FAVOURITING MY STORIES. YOU WERE THE AUTHOUR THAT INSPIRED ME TO WRITE ON THIS WEBSITE AND I'VE HOPED YOU WOULD READ MY STORIES AND YOU DID YOU READ THEM OF YOUR OWN ACCORD LIKE WHAT THANK YOU I LOVE YOU HOW DID YOU FIND ME**

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_Seven Years Later_

Gods of Olympus, I was definitely dead. I began to mentally prepare my obituary: _Percy Jackson, age 23, was a wonderful man. He was a great marine biologist and he was loved by many people, including a hellhound named Mrs. O'Leary. His girlfriend Annabeth Chase, though his murder was by her hands, should be excused from any charges because he used hair dye on her hair in order to propose to her._

Yeah; you heard (or read) right. I'm proposing to Annabeth today. I'd made a promise to myself the night she slept in my cabin (never doing that again; even if we _were _married) to propose to her if we survived college. And here we were, about one year after college. It only took... oh, a threat from Athena and Aphrodite both.

I'm not kidding. When Annabeth was visiting her dad in San Francisco, Athena (Annabeth's mom) and Aphrodite (the goddess of love herself) both made an appearance at the flat that Annabeth and I shared in Manhattan and (in more PG-rated words) told me to propose to Annabeth before she left me because I'm a procrastinator. Athena's words, not mine.

Of course... When they told me to go through with my plan, they never told me they were helping me plan my death.

"Perseus Jackson!"

Cue angry girlfriend!

"What in the name of _Hades _do you call this?" Annabeth stormed into our bedroom, holding up the side-bangs next to her ear that were no longer a beautiful blonde—but a grey that matched her eyes. The grey that had disappeared all those years ago before the Giant War, when I'd disappeared. Finally, Annabeth caught sight of the grey streaks in my own hair, and her expression softened. "You didn't."

"I did." I admitted, running a hand through my hair. "Sorry, Annabeth, I should have told you... But if I'm being completely honest, I had to do it or I wouldn't have been able to do this."

She said, "Seaweed Brain—?"

Before I could run out screaming because I'd lost my courage, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small ring box, opening it.

Athena had given me the ring when she visited. It was the second thing Athena and Poseidon put their differences aside to make. It was a sparking diamond in the center—not too big, not too small—and a grey ring band. Along the ring band was an intricate design of waves in a light blue. It was simple yet the most perfect thing I'd ever seen in my lifetime.

"Annabeth Chase." my voice was shaky, which really sucked. I hated feeling nervous around her. "I've known you for twelve years of my life, and you know me more than anyone. I hate feeling like I could lose you any moment that I'm not with you. I don't want us to be temporary anymore. I think us having grey hair is a symbol—I want to grow old with you and only you." I smiled slightly. "I want to build something _permanent _with you, Wise Girl."

Annabeth's eyes were shining. I couldn't tell if she was about to cry and run away or cry and say yes. We kind of just froze in time, me on one knee and her standing, looking down at me. It felt like we were there for about an hour.

Finally, I said, "Um, Wise Girl, you know I have bad knees..."

She blinked as if remembering where she was. "Oh. Um, right. Gods, Percy, I..."

There it was. Rejection. She was going to say no and for the rest of my life, she would be just another "What if?" in my life. I felt hollow inside, and I would be lying if I said I didn't want to cry. I thought she wanted to marry me too.

"Yes." Annabeth spoke.

I blinked. "What?"

"Yes, Seaweed Brain." she had a smile on her face, like the one she always got when I did something stupid—loving and amused. "Yes, I'll marry you."

Her hands were shaking and so were mine. I slipped the ring onto her finger—which happened to fit perfectly—and then I kissed her, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack." I mumbled, burying my face in her hair. "I thought you were going to say no."

"You nearly gave _me _a heart attack." Annabeth replied. "I thought you were done doing stupid stunts."

"Don't pretend you didn't miss the grey hair, Wise Girl."

She laughed. "I did miss it. But I didn't want it like this."

"Just don't kill me if you wake up with different coloured hair." I pulled back. "Chances are that I'm planning something. Or plotting revenge."

I grinned.

She smacked my arm. "You are _such _a Seaweed Brain."

"That makes you Future Mrs. Seaweed Brain, then." I pointed out, and she made a face. "There's a reason that the guy doesn't take the girl's last name."

"You're right." Annabeth smiled. "It's easier for me to be dumb than you to be smart."

"Hey!"

"Kidding, Seaweed Brain."

But something told me she wasn't. It wasn't like I really did care; I was used to her constant teasing. I know she was just joking around, and as long as I had my Wise Girl by my side, I was perfectly happy with whatever insults I got.

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**I know it's short but that's the end of _Grey _unless I feel like an epilogue lol. Should I write the Athena-Percy-Aphrodite meeting as a one-shot? That would be kind of funny...**

**Thank you all so much for this story! Review and tell me about the epilogue/one-shot, and if you want to read more Percabeth I have a one-shot up called _How Idiots Fall In Love! _x**


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